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You are here: Home / Archives for Whitman-Hanson Regional High Girls’ Tennis

Dealing with a delayed spring sports season at Whitman-Hanson

April 9, 2020 By Nate Rollins, Express Sports Correspondent

The spring sports season is delayed until at least May 4.


For the Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ tennis team, optimism was high — and rightfully so — as it looked toward this spring.

The Panthers are set to return all 18 players from last year’s team that won its first tournament game in program history.

Now, the girls’ tennis team, like the rest of the clubs, is grappling with a delayed start to the spring due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

“We were looking forward to our best season thus far,” said girls’ tennis head coach Sue Sookiasian. “Coach (Sue) Moss and I are keeping the faith that we will be able to have some sort of an abbreviated season.”

This spring is also key for the boys’ lacrosse team, but for the opposite  reason. The Panthers are tasked with making up for the loss of 10 seniors. Five of those seniors combined for 112 goals, one was its Patriot League All-Star starting goaltender and another was a captain on defense.

“It’s definitely tough because I would have liked to get a full season in to develop the younger guys because the majority of starters last year were seniors,”  said boys’ lacrosse head coach Tyler Sabens. “I’m hopeful that we’ll have a spring season even if it’s short.”

If all goes as planned and there are no further setbacks, that short spring season will get underway on May 4 with tryouts. Games will get underway about a week later, according to athletic director Bob Rodgers. 

Baseball skipper Pat Cronin, who started coaching 47 years ago, has never seen anything like this, but he understands the delay is necessary. 

“[I] Feel for the kids, of course,” Cronin said. “The seniors are in their final year and will be unable to ever get back the time missed. While virtually my entire life has been centered about the classroom and athletic fields, missing a season or part of a season is a small price to pay if we can help to save lives.”

Head girls’ lacrosse coach AC Decker, who was hired last offseason, is possibly facing his first spring without picking up a stick since he was introduced to the sport back in 1975. 

“The girls are devastated, especially the seniors,” Decker said. “I can tell that there were many players who were very prepared and ready for the season. The captains, Marissa Connell and Riley Bina (sitting at 92 career goals), organized teams for indoor leagues and kept the players motivated.

“Going into my second year, I felt much better prepared. We were hosting a small preseason jamboree, and I was able to set my schedule this year.”

Josh Lopes is set to enter his first spring at the helm of the boys’ tennis team. He doesn’t think the season will actually happen — and if it does — he won’t have a good feeling going in. 

“I don’t know much about the team at all, especially what the experience levels are,” Lopes said. “Quite a few are first-year players. I had met with anyone interested in playing but it does feel like we are going into the season essentially blind. I don’t really know what to expect in terms of ability and players. It was actually part of the excitement for me, thinking about what the possibilities could be.”

Steve George, the girls’ outdoor track head coach, noted it’s frustrating not being able to communicate with his athletes about potential practices and workouts because of a strict MIAA policy that states, “A coach may not directly or indirectly require an athlete to participate in a sport or a training program outside of the MIAA defined sport season.”

“This pandemic has created an immensely frustrating time for me as a coach,” George said. “I’m literally isolated from the athletes, but in addition there are rules placing limitations on what we can discuss or suggest out of season.”

With that said, he is immensely concerned about his athletes getting hurt if the season ends up getting underway.

“I have a growing concern about injury, if and when we do return,” he said. “Accelerating training would increase that likelihood, and the MIAA will proceed with caution to ensure adequate practices take place prior to competition. But many of the athletes will not want to hold back, despite a lengthy period of inactivity and that could be disastrous. My job is to keep them healthy and safe and that is how I intend to proceed.”

Boys’ outdoor track head coach Stephen Schlicting tries to post a tweet each day to keep in touch with his athletes, but he knows it’s not the same as seeing their faces. 

“It seems like a long time since I’ve seen the team,” said Schlicting, who also coaches the boy’s indoor track team. “I’m hoping we have this thing beat by May 4. We had a very good group this past winter, and I’m looking forward to the others who will join and start next month.”

Softball head coach Jordan McDermott has been doing her best to keep her players’ spirits up. 

“I did do a challenge for a week with the girls where I gave them a challenge and they had the option to do something,” McDermott explained. “I loved how I made it not only for the softball girls but for all those who follow my account; it was pretty cool to see other girls from other schools and towns get involved. I go live here and there on my account and try to check in on the student-athletes. My goal is to keep the girls engaged, active and optimistic.”

One thing is certain: each coach is devastated for their senior(s). 

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: 2019-20 Coverage, AC Decker, Bob Rodgers, Jordan McDermott, Josh Lopes, Pat Cronin, Sports, Stephen Schlicting, Steve George, Sue Sookiasian, Tyler Sabens, Whitman-Hanson Regional High, Whitman-Hanson Regional High Baseball, Whitman-Hanson Regional High Boys' Lacrosse, Whitman-Hanson Regional High Boys' Outdoor Track, Whitman-Hanson Regional High Boys' Tennis, Whitman-Hanson Regional High Girls' Lacrosse, Whitman-Hanson Regional High Girls' Outdoor Track, Whitman-Hanson Regional High Girls' Tennis, Whitman-Hanson Regional High Softball

Season Review: Girls’ tennis picks up speed, has historic season

June 27, 2019 By Nate Rollins, Express Sports Correspondent

The girls’ tennis team. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The girls’ tennis team made history this spring.


As the spring wore on, the Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ tennis team had come into its own.

It flipped a 2-3 loss against Plymouth North into a 3-2 victory nearly three weeks later and topped league foes Hanover (5-0), Quincy (3-2) and Pembroke (4-1) down the stretch.

“I think our girls picked up speed as the season went along and gained confidence,” said sixth-year head coach Sue Sookiasian.

They turned that extra speed and confidence into history. After meeting their first goal of making the tournament, it was then a belief they could win a match in it. With a 4-1 victory over Bishop Feehan in the preliminary round, they did – the  program’s first tournament win on record.

Sookiasian said confidence was crucial.

“I knew they had that in them, it was just my job I feel to present that,” said the coach, whose team was knocked out by Wellesley in the next round, finishing the season at 11-11. “I knew they could do this, I didn’t know if they knew they could do this and that was my role and my assistant Sue Moss’ role to get them to that point. They have the talent, they just needed to believe in themselves.”

Sookiasian also said the constant mindset that tennis is a team sport not an individual sport played a large role in the Panthers’ run.

“One girl might have a great day and come through with a win and the next time we could play the same team and it might not be the same result she had prior but then another member might have lost the previous match and then won,” said the coach. “But they banded together and got the job done.”

W-H’s strength was its dominance in No. 2 and No. 3 singles. Junior captain Abby Pulling posted a 12-6 mark in the No. 2 spot, while sophomore Julia Benvie went 9-2 at No. 3 after being inserted into the position shortly into the season.

“They both had fantastic records,” Sookiasian said. “They were really our strong holds. I could rely on them.”

Going against the best the opposition had to offer, junior captain Lexi Connolly went 9-9 at No. 1 singles and was a league all-star.

“In the Patriot League, when you play towns like Hingham and Scituate and Duxbury, their kids play year-round,” Sookiasian said. “So, it’s tough.”

The doubles teams took a bit longer to round into form. After beginning the season in No. 2 doubles, sophomores Rylie Harlow and Kyla Faghan were bumped up a spot after beating Hingham. Junior captain Nandita Kumar, her sister, sophomore Divya Kumar, and junior captain Chloe Wilson shared time in No. 2 doubles.

“The doubles teams, along with the team, I think picked up speed as the year went along,” Sookiasian said. “Doubles is a little tougher because what you think to start the season might work out, it usually doesn’t – you have to juggle the teams around a bit and that’s what we did. It probably took us 6-8 matches in to really determine who was going to be the best fit with each other.”

Sookiasian said she already has her eyes set on next season. It’s tough to blame her because the Panthers are set to return everybody.

“I’ll have higher goals for next year,” she explained. “I would love to see them playing more tennis this offseason. I’m really encouraging them to obviously play outdoors from the summer into the fall, but definitely play around January. That makes a big difference in their game. If they play three months prior to the season, that will make us that much stronger.”

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: 2018-19 Coverage, Season Review, Sports, Sue Sookiasian, Whitman-Hanson Regional High, Whitman-Hanson Regional High Girls' Tennis

For girls’ tennis team, making history ‘feels great’

June 6, 2019 By Nate Rollins, Express Sports Correspondent

The girls’ tennis team. / Photo by: Marcus Casey

Girls’ tennis wins its first tourney match ever.


A few minutes into the Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ tennis team’s Division 1 South preliminary round match against Bishop Feehan, athletic director Bob Rodgers took off.

He hurried up the hill to the school to paw through some yearbooks in the library. He had a feeling the girls were on the precipice of something special. They were.

Roughly two hours later, the 15th-seeded Panthers secured the girls’ tennis program’s first tournament win on record when the first doubles team of Kyla Faghan and Rylie Harlow notched a 6-3 victory to push W-H ahead 3-0 en route to a 4-1 triumph over Bishop Feehan on Monday.

“It feels great,” said W-H head coach Sue Sookiasian. “These girls work so hard — tirelessly. It was a belief that they could do it. They put in the time, the practice and they have the skills.”

The Panthers’ second doubles team, consisting of Chloe Wilson and Divya Kumar, put them on the board early, making quick work of their opponents in two sets, 6-4 and 6-1.

Abby Pulling was the second point with 6-2 and 6-1 victories in second singles.

Faghan and Harlow followed with set wins of 6-4 and 6-3 wins.

After Lexi Connolly was upended in first singles, 2-6 and 5-7, Julia Benvie capped the match with a win in a tiebreaker.

“They fight as a team,” Sookiasian said. “A lot of times tennis is characterized as an individual sport, it’s not. It’s all about No. 1 to No. 18.”

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: 2018-19 Coverage, Bishop Feehan, Game Story, Sports, Sue Sookiasian, Whitman-Hanson Regional High, Whitman-Hanson Regional High Girls' Tennis

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